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And here we are! The last day of 2017. The grand finale. The big hurrah… to a year of kindness.

There are so many words for kindness… I know because I looked them up:

And because I also just lived out an entire year pondering the power of kindness… Intentional acts of kindness to be exact. While I entered the year thinking I would be sprinkling kindness around the world in grand and amazing ways, what really happened was this — I found kindness in my own heart.

So much closer to home.

That always seems to be the way it goes with these promises. They open up areas inside of me I never knew existed. Never could have expected…and definitely didn’t plan on discovering. Even though they were there the entire time.

That’s the magic and the power of a purposeful promise. It’s always a game of setting an intention and then just showing up. Every single day. That’s all it takes. And then it will take you on the adventure of a lifetime (or at least a year!) full of twists and turns and surprise and delight until you end up sitting at your computer on the last day of the year realizing how perfect the entire year unfolded right before your very eyes.

Thank you, kindness. For letting me chase you this year, and then showing me you were right here all along, pulling at my heartstrings.

Thank you, kindness. For teaching me to look for you, starting inside myself and then spotting you inside the smiles, eyes, laughter, and love of others.

Most of all, thank you for teaching me to be more kind.

Tomorrow I announce a new promise for 2018… want to join me!?
Drumroll, please……

More tomorrow…

Lovemore,
Jamie

{thank you, kindness}
#lovemore

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It’s been a year, 2017. Amidst it all two things have been constant: Pup and Brady.

Sometimes for comic relief, other times for adventure. One thing I am absolutely sure of… there is nothing kinder than the love of a dog and the wag of a tail to the rhythm of joy. Times that by two and you’ve got a pretty kind life.

If there is nothing else in this year to teach me the power of kindness, there are these two dogs. They are cuddled up on their dog bed right now, wrapped around each other and snuggled in for the night.

In this year of Kindness, they have taught me this: Lick it better and shake it off.

More tomorrow…

Lovemore,
Jamie

{shake it off}
#lovemore

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Before we get there, I’m beginning to reflect on 2017 – where the year has taken me, the path we have walked together … and how we got here.

What were your lessons from this year we call 2017?
I called it my Year of Kindness. And it played out in ways I couldn’t imagine, as it always does with this promise work. I set a theme, I make a promise and I go into each year writing about it each and every day. Some days are way more exciting than others.

For instance, I never would have guessed a surprise pop-up wedding in the middle of Colorado would happen right in the middle of the year! Surprise. And, yet, it seemed so perfect — why didn’t I see it coming? I don’t know. (And how did we keep it a secret – long story!) And yet, that is the magic of making these promises.

You never know what is going to happen. Until you try. And then, what transpires is always beyond my wildest dreams — and plans. They are even better than my own plans my own head could come up with — really.

And that is what makes this work so exciting. Sometimes you have to take the brain out of the equation and listen to your heart. And learning to do that is what one might call kindness.

More tomorrow…

Lovemore,
Jamie

{kindness of the heart}
#lovemore

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We just arrived home from a Christmas party. One with a gift exchange “swap with a twist…”. We all drew numbers and then one by one picked up our presents. The gift picking came with the option to take someone else’s gift.

When I lived in New England, this was called a “Yankee Swap.” I’m not sure what it is called here on the West Coast. But it always creates a lot of laughter and some serious swapping strategies.

Tonight, the game ended with a promised “twist” — which was after all the swapping had subsided we passed our gifts one person to the right.

I ended up with a sweet little set of LED candles. But it got me thinking about kindness. About working really hard and gearing up over a mysterious box and then just handing it over to someone else.

There’s grace in sharing.
And it’s kind to share openly.
Even if it’s a box wrapped in paper that you pass to your right.

More tomorrow…

Lovemore,
Jamie

{life is full of surprises}
#lovemore

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If there is one thing I have learned in this year of Kindness, it is to listen. Deeply. I’m not saying I’m good at it, or have a full grasp on the fine art of deep listening. But I have learned this: listening deeply is the best remedy to most of life’s issues.

Listen to someone.
Deeply.

More tomorrow…

Lovemore,
Jamie

{listen}
#lovemore

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Year 2: Lovemore+Fearless
2012 sent me rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon where I slept next to scorpions. I tossed my old engagement ring in a fountain in Paris, and swam with sharks in the Bahamas. In the end, I learned more about LOVE than fear.

Year 3: Abundance
My promise in year 3 was to dive deep into abundance, which included a promise to give away a gift a day. Ironically, there was something else in store for me as I found myself moving across the country, having surgery, and giving away my thyroid. It all started a little Card Crusade and my biggest lesson yet was to come in the form of a doozy: health is our greatest wealth. Abundance indeed.

Year 4: Peak Performance
Surprise! 2014 sent me back to the surgical routine. Getting a surprise diagnosis, mastectomy and reconstructive surgery all in one swoop. Overall, it probably saved my life. Ironically, I ended up with two NIKE swooshes in the form of scars across my chest. The sign of Peak Performance?

Year 5: BLISS!
It's all about that bliss, 'bout that bliss, no trouble. This year was all about FOLLOWING OUR BLISS. And follow it we did.... all the way to Bellingham, WA! Who would have thought? And now... here we are.

Year 6: Yoga for a Year
Yoga every single day. I did it. Really, I did it! Not every single day was amazing but I downward dogged it on planes, trains, across the "plains" crisscrossing this country. What did I learn? To be kinder to myself. And this: just showing up creates miracles (for me that's Crow!). In the unprecedented events of 2016, I also learned our world needs a whole heaping dose of kindness.

Year 7: Intentional Acts of Kindness
You guessed it! As I move into Year 7 (what??!!) this year's promise is all about kindness - the intentional kind. How will it unfold? I have no idea. But I do know this, the magic happens when we make promises and show up. I hope you join me in making promises and reaching for your goals too.

xo~Jamie

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